Stena Bulk
Stena Bulk is a privately held Swedish tanker shipping company operating roughly 60 vessels across crude, product, chemical, and intermediate segments, serving oil majors, national oil companies, and chemical producers globally through charter contracts and joint-venture pools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersHouston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Stena Bulk does
Stena Bulk AB is a privately held Swedish tanker shipping company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Stena Sphere family conglomerate, headquartered in Gothenburg with regional offices in Houston, Copenhagen, Dubai, and Singapore. The company operates a combined fleet of approximately 60 vessels totaling roughly 4.5 million DWT across three business areas: Crude & Fuel (self-designed Suezmax tankers), Products & Chemicals (Medium Range and IMOIIMAX tankers), and Intermediate Tankers (chemical and specialised vessels under 25,000 DWT). Its core technology differentiator is in-house vessel design capability — IMOIIMAX tankers with 18 cargo tanks and nitrogen inert gas systems, self-designed Suezmax hulls delivering up to 15% lower bunker consumption, and IMOIIMeMAX methanol-fuelled 49,900 DWT MR tankers developed jointly with Proman, positioning the company ahead of IMO emissions regulations and toward its stated net-zero 2050 target.
Revenue is generated through time charter contracts, voyage charters, and joint-venture pool operations. Three core pools underpin scale economics: the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool (~20 vessels with Sonangol), GSB Tankers J19 and ACTA pools in Asia and the Middle East (now majority-owned after the January 2026 share acquisition from Bay Crest), and the Proman Stena Bulk methanol JV. Customers include major international oil companies, national oil companies (Petrobras, NNPC Shipping), integrated energy majors (ExxonMobil), and chemical/agricultural shippers. Pricing is negotiated privately per voyage based on market rates, vessel type, cargo, and route specifics and is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is direct B2B through owned chartering desks across the five global offices. Strategic positioning emphasizes fuel-efficient proprietary designs, sustainability leadership (GREEN4SEA Tanker Operator Award 2017; Lloyd's List Global Awards 2016), and an expanding footprint into LNG infrastructure via the September 2025 exclusive jettyless LNG technology partnership.
Stena Bulk firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Stena Bulk
- Legal name
- Stena Bulk AB
- Website
- https://stenabulk.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Stena Bulk is a privately held Swedish tanker shipping company operating roughly 60 vessels across crude, product, chemical, and intermediate segments, serving oil majors, national oil companies, and chemical producers globally through charter contracts and joint-venture pools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Stena Bulk industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Deep-sea Tanker Shipping Services
- NAICS
- Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111)
- SIC
- Water Transportation (4400), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Crude Oil & Petroleum Products Tanker Transport (TLADALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Crude Oil Tanker Shipping (EUALADAG), Liquid Bulk / Tanker Freight Brokerage (TLADAMAL)
Keywords
Where Stena Bulk is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Houston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Stena Bulk business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Tanker Chartering Services: Revenue generated through time charter contracts and voyage charters for crude oil, fuel oil, petroleum products, and chemical transportation services.
- Pool Operations: Joint venture pool arrangements including Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool (SSSP) and GSB Tankers pools (J19 and ACTA) generating revenue through shared vessel operations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Stena Bulk product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Stena Bulk is a privately owned Swedish tanker shipping company that transports crude oil, refined petroleum products, chemicals and other liquid cargoes worldwide using a fleet of approximately 60 owned and operated Suezmax, Long Range (LR2), Medium Range (MR) and IMOIIMAX chemical tankers. Services are delivered through time-charter, voyage-charter, contract-of-affreightment and pool agreements with oil majors, trading houses, national oil companies and chemical producers across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Product overview
Stena Bulk is a leading tanker shipping company operating a diversified fleet of approximately 60 vessels. The product portfolio centers on three core vessel types: Suezmax crude oil tankers (with own designed eco-friendly vessels), Medium Range (MR) product/chemical tankers, and IMOIIMAX chemical/product tankers. The company also operates intermediate tankers through its GSB Tankers joint venture with Golden Agri and Baycrest, and methanol-powered dual-fuel vessels through the Proman Stena Bulk partnership. The Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool manages the Sonangol-related crude shipping business. The fleet also includes concept vessels like the InfinityMAX modular hybrid carrier and IMOFlexMAX prototype. Services are organized around three business areas: Crude & Fuel, Products & Chemicals, and intermediate/specialized chemical transport. The company is part of the Stena Sphere with over 19,000 employees.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GSB Tankers: Joint venture commercial management of intermediate-size tankers transporting edible oils, chemicals, acids and CPP between Middle East and Asia.
- Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool
- Proman Stena Bulk
Products and services
- Crude Oil Tanker Shipping Service Transportation of crude oil worldwide using owned and operated Suezmax (and related) tankers for oil majors, national oil companies and trading houses on time and voyage charters.
- Refined Product Tanker Shipping Service Worldwide shipping of refined petroleum products (gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, naphtha) on a fleet of product tankers offered to oil and trading clients on time-charter, voyage-charter and contract-of-affreightment terms.
- Chemical Tanker Shipping Service (IMOIIMAX) Transportation of chemicals, vegetable oils and other specialty liquid cargoes on IMOIIMAX chemical tankers designed to carry a wider range of grades than standard MR tonnage, for chemical producers and traders.
- Methanol-Fuelled MR Tanker Service (Proman Stena Bulk JV) Low-emission chemical and product shipping using methanol-fuelled medium-range tankers developed jointly with Proman, offering customers a reduced-emission alternative to conventional product tanker tonnage.
- Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool (SSSP) A commercial Suezmax tonnage pool operated jointly with Sonangol, aggregating owned and third-party tonnage to serve West African and global crude-oil trades on a shared commercial platform.
- Intermediate Tanker Operation (GSB Partnership) Joint operation of intermediate-size product tanker tonnage via the GSB partnership, expanding Stena Bulk's commercial reach in clean-product trades worldwide.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 15-20% better fuel efficiency compared to conventionally designed vessels
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Stena Bulk
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Stena Bulk technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Stena Bulk partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Golden Stena Baycrest Tankers (GSB)coreStena Bulk acquired majority shareholding from Bay Crest, becoming the majority shareholder in the joint venture. GSB operates chemical and specialized tanker pools (J19 and ACTA) focusing on Asia and Middle East trades, with offices in Singapore and Dubai.
- Exclusive Global Partner for Jettyless LNG TechnologycoreStena Bulk appointed exclusive global partner for jettyless LNG technology to support LNG supply chain modernization.
- NNPC Shipping and CavertoncoreNew joint venture between NNPC Shipping, Stena Bulk, and Caverton launched February 2025 for Nigerian shipping operations.
- Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI)coreShipbuilding partner for IMOIIMAX tanker series (13 vessels) and methanol-fuelled vessels. Long-standing relationship for newbuild construction.
- ExxonMobilminorSea trial partnership for testing marine biofuel oil, demonstrating compatibility with existing vessel operations.
- Proman ShippingcoreJoint venture Proman Stena Bulk for methanol-fuelled vessels. First vessel Stena Pro Patria delivered 2022, with additional vessels Stena ProMare and Stena Prosperous. Partnership focused on methanol as marine fuel and shipping decarbonization.
- Bay Crest ManagementcorePartnership expansion in Asia through Golden-Agri Stena joint venture, later evolved into GSB Tankers with three shareholders: Stena Bulk, Golden Agri, and Bay Crest.
- Aurora TankersminorGSB Tankers and Aurora Tankers announced joint operations in J19 stainless steel tanker segment in July 2021.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Stena Bulk competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Maersk Tankers: Maersk Tankers operates a large MR and chemical tanker pool serving oil majors and traders. Closely comparable pool-based model to GSB Tankers and similar product/chemical positioning to Stena Bulk.
- Frontline: Frontline is one of the world's largest independent tanker companies operating VLCC, Suezmax, and MR/LR2 tankers. Direct overlap with Stena Bulk across Suezmax crude and product tanker segments; both run proprietary vessel designs and pool-charter models.
- Euronav: Euronav is a leading pure-play crude tanker operator focused on VLCC and Suezmax vessels. Comparable to Stena Bulk's Crude & Fuel segment and directly competes for the same crude oil chartering customers.
- Scorpio Tankers: Scorpio Tankers is a major product tanker owner-operator with a fleet of MR and LR2 tankers. Directly competes with Stena Bulk's MR and IMOIIMAX product tanker operations and serves overlapping petroleum product customers.
- DHT Holdings: DHT Holdings operates one of the largest fleets of VLCC crude oil tankers. Overlaps with Stena Bulk's crude tanker business (especially Suezmax) and competes for the same global crude oil chartering market.
- Torm: Torm is a leading global product tanker shipping company operating MR and LR2 vessels. Direct peer to Stena Bulk's product and chemical tanker division with similar customer base of oil majors and trading houses.
- International Seaways: International Seaways is an international tanker operator with VLCC, Suezmax, Aframax/LR2, and MR vessels. Direct competitor across nearly all of Stena Bulk's crude and product tanker segments.
- Sovcomflot: Sovcomflot is Russia's largest tanker shipping company, operating crude oil and product tankers globally. Comparable crude/product tanker fleet with overlapping Suezmax and MR segments, particularly for Russian and emerging-market crude flows.
- Hartmann Group / Team Tankers: Hartmann Group (formerly Team Tankers) operates a fleet of chemical and product tankers globally. Directly comparable chemical and intermediate tanker pool operations to Stena Bulk's GSB Tankers and Products & Chemicals division.
Broad incumbents
- Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL): MOL is a Japanese diversified shipping major with significant tanker operations alongside dry bulk, LNG, and container businesses. Provides broader competition in energy shipping and is a comparable incumbent building methanol/LNG-fueled fleets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Stena Bulk social profiles
Digital presenceStena Bulk financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stena Bulk leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Stena Bulk subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Stena Bulk funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stena Bulk M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stena Bulk
What does Stena Bulk do?
Stena Bulk is a privately owned Swedish tanker shipping company that transports crude oil, refined petroleum products, chemicals and other liquid cargoes worldwide using a fleet of approximately 60 owned and operated Suezmax, Long Range (LR2), Medium Range (MR) and IMOIIMAX chemical tankers. Services are delivered through time-charter, voyage-charter, contract-of-affreightment and pool agreements with oil majors, trading houses, national oil companies and chemical producers across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Is Stena Bulk a public or private company?
Stena Bulk is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Stena Bulk founded?
Stena Bulk was founded in 1982. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stena Bulk based?
Stena Bulk is headquartered in Houston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Stena Bulk make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Tanker Chartering Services are the primary driver. The others are pool Operations.
Who are Stena Bulk's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Maersk Tankers, Frontline, Euronav, Scorpio Tankers, DHT Holdings, Torm, International Seaways, Sovcomflot and Hartmann Group / Team Tankers. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Stena Bulk have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stena Bulk.
What industry is Stena Bulk in?
Stena Bulk's product category is Deep-sea Tanker Shipping Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLADALAA, Crude Oil & Petroleum Products Tanker Transport, with a secondary code of EUALADAG, Crude Oil Tanker Shipping. Its NAICS code is 483111 and its SIC code is 4400.